I Love Rock and Roll — 30 Years Ago!

Thirty years ago this week, the #1 song on the charts was Joan Jett’s I Love Rock and Roll.

What I (and I’m guessing most kids my age) didn’t know was that Jett’s version was actually a cover version. The original was written and performed by the Arrows a few years earlier in 1975. The song has been covered countless times since, including versions by Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus, but Jett’s version is (by far) the most memorable. Jett’s version was responsible for launching her solo career, and remained number one on the charts for seven weeks.

Trivia Fact: According to Wikipedia, “[t]he video was originally in color, but it was converted to black and white because Jett was ultimately displeased with the look of her red leather jacket in color.”

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5 thoughts on “I Love Rock and Roll — 30 Years Ago!”

Drahkensays:

Wow, it’s been 30 years now? Seems like it’s only been about 10 years.

A lot of the songs joan jett made famous were originally done by someone else. “do you wanna touch me” is a rather disturbing example of one. It was originally done by gary glitter (a guy who looks like he could be elton john’s “special friend”). Imagine this guy asking if you want to touch him.
What adds another interesting twist to that song is that the guy is a convicted child molestor.
…And apparently apple used the song in a commercial for their touchsmart computers in 2008, but pulled it after they found out that he was a child molestor (but they still have to pay him a bunch of royalties).

Yeah, Jett did some good cover songs. “I Love Rock and Roll” was the first song I knew of hers, and I think the second one was “Crimson and Clover,” also a cover tune. On her debut s/t solo album, there’s another Gary Glitter cover (“Doing All Right With The Boys”), a version of “Shout” and a version of “Wooly Bully.” A cover of “Summertime Blues” was also used as a b-side.